The Sixth Guardian
by NightRaven33
Summary: The world has just been saved by the guardians and Jack just joined them. But what happens when a new guardian appears on the horizon? Even worse, what happens when Pitch Black has his sights set on her? Will she fight for the guardians or will she fall into darkness forever?
1. Prologue

**This is my very first story like this so I hope you enjoy!**

**Sorry for the first upload, I'm still trying to get used to the website.**

Prologue

**Sandy POV**

The battle for the control of the Earth is over. But the war for Earth has just begun.

Very few know of the future and even fewer can tell you how exactly the events will come to pass. I am one of those people.

As you probably know, in one of the first few confrontations with Pitch, he struck me with a Nightmare arrow and it consumed the purity of my magic. I faded into the darkness as I heard the cries of my fellow guardians far below me. I did not merely disappear and reappear as it is told in the movie adaptation by the humans.

During my time in the world of nothingness, I felt the emotions and saw the actions of my fellow guardians from above. I felt their pain and guilt at my loss. I saw the friendly bonding between Jack and Bunny. I saw when Jack was fooled by Pitch, which in turn destroyed Easter because Jack was not there to fight off the nightmares of children. I ached with each of them, but I could do nothing; I was invisible to both the human and supernatural eye. However, I knew I had to do something, especially when Jack lost hope in himself and was about to separate himself from the rest of the world forever. So, I decided to visit the one place that I swore I would never return to: the afterlife.

That place is horrible for me, draining my power and strength with every passing moment. Since nobody had even repressed dreams in there, I was not believed in and therefore was at my weakest when I was there. But I knew that in order to help Jack, I would have to give him some sort of extra hope and the only person in the universe that I could talk to about Jack was the Man in Moon. While he himself was not in the afterlife world, it is there where it is easiest to communicate with him in my condition.

Long story short, I managed to speak to Man in Moon where he reminded me that Jack did not remember his human past. His knowing smile said more than he actually said: if Jack was able to view his memories, he would somehow regain the confidence in himself to rejoin the fight against Pitch.

After I returned to Earth, I found that Jack had Baby Tooth with him, and she stayed regardless of the fact that she was clearly extremely cold. I touched her mind briefly and gave her the inspiration to show Jack his memories which he had in the pocket of his sweatshirt. While I did not see the memories that he re-experienced, when he regained consciousness I could see his eyes widen in pride and joy. He repaired his magical staff and flew off to Jamie's home. The movie pretty accurately displayed what happened after that, with the exception of my return.

When Jamie created the first strand of dream sand from the nightmare sand, I felt a small part of my power return. I rejoiced because I knew that I would soon be reunited with my friends, in peace, hopefully for the rest of time. However, just before I appeared on the snowy hilltop, I heard Man in Moon speak to me once more, "Sandman, beware the descendant of Jamie, the new guardian, the one who will love the man who thought he was alone in the world. She will help to bring the world to a second darkening," Before I could ask what he meant, I felt mostly solid again and I could see Pitch in front of me. I called on my sand into a whip and wrapped it around Pitch's arm, dragging him towards me. The rest you should know because of the movie.

It has not been very long since the battle of Earth and since then I have told the guardians through dreams and images of what I learned of the future. Well, not completely. I decided not to tell them of the allegiance of the new guardian, especially after I saw Jack's look of hope and almost desperation. Everyone knew that he was the guardian that once thought that he was alone in the world since he spent around 200 years without being visible to a single child. At least the other guardians were believed in and were visible to children. If he even has a chance at love, he will take it. Besides, it has been said for centuries that the future in not set in stone, perhaps we can change her fate.

I know that this secret could cause the guardians problems in the future, but for now I will keep it this way. For now I will watch Jamie's family with the other guardians. For now, I will hope that for once, Man in Moon was wrong.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One: Birth of Glow

**Crystal's POV**

Darkness. That's the first thing that I remember. It was dark, and it was cold. And I was scared. It was so cold. There was no light at all, not from the sun, not from the moon. Someone could have been waving their hands in front of my face and I would not have noticed. It was so cold. I felt so alone and weak, there was nothing that I could do. So cold. I felt as though I was going to pass into unconsciousness again. Suddenly there was a booming voice that surrounded my whole body, "CRYSTAL DEVONHARR!"

I trembled beneath the power that flowed around me. Somehow, I could tell that the owner of the voice was behind me. I turned around and although I still could not see, I felt a warmth spread from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. Regardless of the comfort that I felt, I still remained at attention, prepared for anything that this mysterious person could say.

The person chuckled and said, "Oh silly me! You are still partially human. You cannot see in the darkness yet." Confusion bubbled around me but before I could ask anything, torches were lit and I saw that I was in some kind of chamber. In front of me was an elderly man dressed in a black robe with his left hand outstretched. Despite his age, he appeared to stand quite tall and with strength, as though the age was merely a disguise. In his hand was a swirling ball of glowing dust, different colors blending with each other.

I knew that I should have felt fear at this unfamiliar and strange man, but somehow, I knew that what I needed to do was grab the outstretched hand with the dust. I crossed the distance in five long strides and placed my hand directly in his. As I did, a bolt of warm strong energy flew through my arm and I involuntarily shuddered. I looked into the man's eyes and began to hear a voice in my mind, "What I am about to show you are things of the past, of both your past and those of your great-great-great grandfather's past," he paused for a moment. In this moment I found my voice and it croaked out a single question,

"Where am I?"

Before, the man's eyes shone with an intensity that I had never seen before in my life but also with a spark of kindness. After my question, his eyes lost some of that shine and an unfamiliar emotion was on his face. Was it pity?

I could not ponder it for very long before the dust in our hands began to swirl around both of us in a tornado. I initially shut my eyes because the colors of the dust were so disorienting, but after a moment I reopened them and the dust had formed into an image in front of me. In it, there was a young boy of about ten years old jumping up and down on his bed as miraculously a rabbit made of snow leaped through the air. His brown eyes shone with the wonder that only a child introduced to magic would have. He cried out, "Whoa!" as the rabbit burst into a small snow flurry in his room and began to laugh. I couldn't help but laugh too, it was contagious.

Then the boy stopped laughing and he had a puzzled look on his face. He looked up at the ceiling and murmured quietly, "Snow?" Then a single snowflake landed on his nose and his eyes widened, his jaw dropped open, "Jack Frost?" Now my mouth dropped open too. Jack Frost? He was fake, just a legend to tell kids about the magic of winter when they were young. I guess I was even more surprised when suddenly a teenager around my age appeared in the room across from the boy.

He was extremely pale and thin, not gaunt but definitely thinner than he probably should be. His hair was white and he wore a blue sweatshirt with brown pants. I noted that he was barefoot. He was also holding a hook staff that was laced with ice. Just based on this, I could immediately conclude that this is the famed Jack Frost, not like the Jack Frost in movies. But the feature that I noticed immediately was his eyes. By first glance, they appear to be a crystal blue but on closer inspection, the eyes were multicolored, taking on whatever color was around. In them, I could see an expression of surprise and disbelief. He whispered, "Did he just say…?"

"Jack Frost?" the boy repeated. He was looking around the room, as if searching for something.

Frost's eyes widened, "Oh, he said it again. He said…you said…" he was breathless and clearly on the verge of breaking down in tears.

The boy just now spun all the way around to face Jack, and his mouth somehow dropped even farther open, "Jack Frost," he said in disbelief.

"That's right!" Frost exclaimed, "That…that's me, Jack Frost! That's my name!" He moved closer to the boy nearly crying, "You said my name!"

The boy said nothing, merely staring at Jack with the same blank stare.

Frost's expression turned into one of horror. He began to back away slowly, "Wait, can…can you hear me?" The boy nodded slightly, "Can…can you see me?" The boy nodded again more noticeably. Frost took short quick breaths and his eyes filled with hope and joy. He almost cried out, "He sees me…ah…he sees me!" He began to laugh and flipped backward onto the desk. The scene then stopped. I heard the old man's voice again,

"This is your great-great-great grandfather Jamie. This is his first clear memory of meeting any of the guardians that he knew was real. There was another memory a few days before these events where he encountered Jack Frost as well as the other guardians, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, Santa Claus, and Easter Bunny. However, it was perceived as a dream because Sandman made him fall asleep."

I was confused, "Why is this important? I'm sure millions of children have met the so-called guardians."

"Because your ancestor helped to save the Earth in the first battle of Earth." The image in front of me changed into swirling dust again and formed into a new image of a man dressed completely in black, and his eyes glowed with a golden unfamiliar power. Behind him stood thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of black horses made of sand. The image changed perspective and now I saw Jack Frost, Santa, Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny (he was so cute looking!) all standing wearily as though they had no power left. In front of them stood Jamie, looking up fearlessly at the man in black and behind him flanked other children.

The old man's voice continued, "Pitch Black, or better known as the Boogey Man in your world, attempted to take over the world because he was not believed in, and he needed to be believed in. He almost succeeded as well because as children fell under the spell of his nightmares, the more children that stopped believing in the guardians. Through their belief is how the guardians retain their power. Your ancestor was the last child on Earth to have believed in the guardians. When he saw proof, he knew that he would never stop believing."

Just then, I noticed something odd about the scene in front of me and remembered an old story, "Wait a minute. The Sandman is supposed to be the mortal enemy of the Boogey Man, I mean Pitch." I looked around as best as I could in the scene, "But he isn't here!"

"He was not there because he was struck by a Nightmare arrow and seemed to fade into the darkness. Without dreams, the children began to lose belief in the other guardians at a rapid rate. However, Jack Frost was the best defense against Pitch because no children had believed in him for nearly 200 years, yet he was still strong. Unfortunately, Pitch was cunning. He knew Jack's weakness at the time, Pitch had Jack's memories." Before I could ask what that meant, he continued, "Before Jack became Jack Frost, he was just another human teenager like yourself. However, one day, he and his little sister went out ice skating on the lake. She was trapped on some thin ice. Jack quickly managed to pull his little sister to safety, but at a great cost."

"He died?" I suddenly asked. That was weird, how did I know anything about this story?

The old man did not speak again for a long while, then he said, "Yes. Yes, he died. But Man in Moon was there and turned Jack into an immortal for his courageous and selfless acts." I began to pity him. Jack had his whole life ahead of him and he had done the one thing that I had really only dreamed about: saved the person that he cared about.

"Who is Man in Moon?" I asked. The name seemed familiar somehow but I could not put a finger on it.

"He is one of the eldest immortal legends. He basically leads the guardians in their mission to protect the children of the world."

"Are you Man in Moon?" I wondered aloud. He kind of fit the profile that he created.

A laughing sound echoed throughout the space. I could almost feel he smile at me as he said, "Yes and no. I am not Man in Moon. It is difficult for him to communicate in this place alone; however, my job is kind of acting as a bridge between him and here. So I am speaking to you as Man in Moon, but this is not my physical body."

That reminded me of the other question that had been burning at my mind for the past time, "Where exactly is this place?"

"A more correct question is not where this place is, but rather _what _it is. It exists everywhere at once. You my dear girl are in a special form of the afterlife."

"WHAT?!" I screamed. The afterlife? "This cannot be true! What happened to me and why are you showing me these other memories?"

"I understand that you are confused as is expected. Now I am going to show you as much as your life as I can. My time with you is coming to an end."

I cried out, "Wait! I'm more interested as to why you are showing me the memories in the first place."

The voice sighed and the man said, "You do realize that if I tell you that, you will not be able to access your memories through me. You will have to find another way to see them through someone else."

I nodded, "I understand 100%. Now please, tell me why you chose to show me memories of an ancestor that I do not even remember."

He began, "During the battle of the Earth, after the Sandman had supposedly died, the Sandman, because he was in the world of nothingness, came to see me to ask for guidance in order to help Jack Frost. Jack had lost faith in himself and the guardians no longer trusted him because long story short, he sold out Easter in order for him to get his memories. Of course this is not exactly what happened. Jack was delayed by Pitch because he was baited by his memories long enough for the nightmares to destroy Easter." I shuddered as the image of the demon-like horses reappeared in front of me for just a few seconds. The man continued, "I told him that he had to inspire Jack to view his memories. If he saw his memories, he would regain faith in himself. However, this was not the only thing that I told him. I saw that in the future because of Jamie's interference in the battle, one of Jamie's descendants would become the sixth guardian."

"Me." I realized. That would explain everything up until now, the viewing of my ancestor's memories, learning about the guardians.

"Yes, you are the sixth guardian. Unfortunately you died just before I was going to give you your powers so now I have even less time to explain it all to you." The old man appeared in front of me suddenly and grasped my hands once again, "My time is almost up, if I keep you here for too long you will die. Now it is time for me to give you immortality and your power. What happens afterward is all up to you."

I had one final question, "What if the guardians don't take me in? What if I am turned away?"

"Don't worry, you won't be. I will contact them to let them know the new guardian has been found," the tingling sensation on my arm increasing significantly until it felt as though I was burning. I found that I could not scream despite the pain that was coursing through my body. Just before I lost consciousness, I heard the old man's voice for the last time, "Don't ever lose sight, my little glow."


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter 2: Finding the Light

**Jack's POV**

It's been nearly 200 years since Sandy told us that I would fall in love with the next guardian. It's been nearly 200 years and I'm still waiting for her to even show up. I'm starting to think that maybe Sandy was just wrong about this, despite the fact that the moon told him. It has just been so long…maybe we missed her.

However, I honestly believe that Crystal was the one that is of course, before she died a few weeks ago. We tried to save her, none more than me if I do say so myself. Why was she so special in my mind? Well, she was the one descendant of Jamie up until now that never believed in any of the guardians. Sure she knew some of the stories, but she always believed that they were just for children in order for them to behave in a certain manner.

I even tried the snow in the room trick that I used for Jamie years ago, but she thought that the ceiling had holes in it and just needed to be fixed as soon as possible. Yeah, I think that's why I liked her, because she was the one that I could never see or be with.

Anyways, at this moment, I was watching over Crystal's little sister Carrie. They had looked pretty similar too: brown hair, blue eyes, about 5'6, but one of Crystal's special features was the star-shaped birthmark on her right hand. It was shaped into a perfect star and I have yet to see another person with that same birthmark. Anyways, they both loved to go out and play sports in the snow. Crystal was fantastic at skiing, she was almost as fast as I was when I flew with the wind.

Even though I was supposedly still looking for the "love of my life for the rest of eternity", as North bluntly put it, I was bored and still I guess a bit sad about Crystal. It was the first time that one of Jamie's descendants had died of unnatural causes. Actually, for the first week after her death, I firmly believed that Crystal would come back as I did, back to life without her memories shortly after her death. But days turned to weeks and so I've lost hope on that front again.

I must have lost track of the time again (watching the same girl every day drawing in her sketchbook got pretty old after the first few days), because I suddenly noticed that night had fallen. Moments later, Tooth showed up with several of her fairies. I was afraid that she would take the idea that another guardian and I would be in love forever very badly. I wasn't an idiot of course, I knew how much she fancied me for my teeth. But she took it rather well and seemed happy enough to fawn over me like an older sister would, and truthfully, I was completely okay with that.

She looked towards me but did not meet my eyes and I immediately knew that something was wrong. There was a tired and sad look on her face, the last time she had that expression was when Pitch came and stole all of the teeth and almost all of her fairies. I quickly asked, "Tooth? What's wrong?"

Tears began to fall gently down her face and I quickly swiped them away. Her eyes met mine and she murmured, "Jack…oh…Jack…" I could feel the blood drain out of my face at this point. What could possibly have made her so distraught?

She continued in a soft voice, "I was out with my fairies earlier tonight and I found something that I think you might want to see." Her wings fluttered and she smoothly flew out the window. Without a second thought, I called on the wind and flew after her. I noticed immediately that we were flying towards the cemetery, as it was on the opposite side of town and in a very secluded area. Both of us landed together in the oldest part of the cemetery, I knew Crystal was buried in the new part since I visited her whenever I had the chance. Tooth then began to walk directly to a grave marking, it was so dark that I could not really see anything. I created a ball of bright ice in my hand and nearly lost my focus on my power when I saw what was written in the stone: Jackson Overland Born: January 7th 1799 Died: December 2nd 1813.

I was in shock more than anything else. I have known since the battle for Earth that I had died and been reborn as Jack Frost, but it never occurred to me that since I died, a part of my history is here, in my hometown of Burgess. The fact that Tooth found it before me felt as though she was intruding on my privacy, yet it was also comforting.

Tooth finally spoke for the first time since we left the house, "I have to get back to watch Carrie but I figured that you would want to know about this. I will see you back at North's later okay?" I didn't respond, but she didn't really wait for an answer either. She took off to the sky and after a few seconds was gone.

As soon as she disappeared, the strength in my knees gave out and I fell on them in front of my…my grave. I began to cry, the tears falling down across my face at a rapidly increasing rate. I never really thought about my past, only that I became the guardian of Fun as a result of using hopscotch in order to save my little sister. To find this part of me nearly 400 years after my death was disorienting and upsetting. I then remembered my sister's sweet laugh as I did crazy and dangerous things in order to prove to her that there was nothing to be afraid of. I wonder what happened to her after I died.

I was kneeling in front of the grave for minutes, maybe hours when I felt a sudden tremor through the Earth. It was so strong that it knocked me onto my back. Disoriented, I stood up, only to nearly fall again when another tremor shook the ground. "What the…?" I wondered aloud. Looking upwards towards the entrance of the cemetery, there was a column of bright yellow light shooting up from the ground. Calling on the wind, I went to investigate.

As I approached the column of light, I felt a warmth envelope me until it came to be uncomfortable. Heat could seriously hurt me, but this wasn't that strong. It seemed as though it was more as a feeling more than a form of heat. Within seconds, I landed about 10 feet away from the column and stared in shock at it. The column was not just of light, encased within it was a girl, somewhere around my age. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was dropped open, somehow unconscious.

Well, as a guardian, I immediately touched my hook staff to the column expected to be able to disarm the light tomb, only to receive an electric shock. It wasn't that strong since I had not touched it with my hand, but I could tell that if I did, I would be in trouble. Just as I was about to formulate a plan about how to release the girl, the column vanished and the girl floated to the ground, like a feather.

Approaching cautiously, I saw that the girl actually had an aura around her, the same bright yellow as the column. I was honestly afraid that if I got to close, I would get shocked again, I am immortal, but I can still die again, I didn't want to risk it.

I decided to bring her to North, we had an infirmary set up there and we could speak to Man in Moon about this person to see what he knew. I called on separate winds now, one to carry me, and the other to carry the girl. It was a slow process, but I finally managed to get us both to the North Pole without any problems. As soon as I opened the door with a blast of ice, I nearly flew right into North, who appears to have been waiting for me.

His eyes grew wide in shock as he saw the girl who I brought with me and immediately took her out of my hands and carried her to a bed hooked up with many machines already. Once she was hooked up, I moved to ask North about what he knew, since he had clearly been expecting us both, but North beat me to it, "You must tell me everything. Every detail is important."

"But why?" I asked.

"Why? Ha!" North laughed boomingly, "I would have expected that you would have recognized her. You did carry her all this way." I shook my head slowly, "Well, I think you better take a closer look while you are here." I did as he asked and my heart began to pound furiously in fear and amazement in my chest. The girl on the bed had blond hair, and while I could not tell the color of her eyes at this moment, on her right hand, was a small star-shaped birthmark, one that I would never forget.

"But…how?" I croaked. She was dead, I saw her die before my very eyes. She was dead, how was she here. She was dead.

"I had hoped that you would be able to tell me. Man in Moon told me that someone new would be brought here, someone special, the new guardian." North raised an eyebrow in my direction, "I guess Sandy was right all those years ago."

"Maybe." I whispered. Crystal. A guardian. I couldn't believe it. I stumbled into a nearby chair and collapsed, head in my hands, still trying to understand why and how this could have happened. North sat opposite me and invited me to tell the story about how I found her. I told North everything that I knew, and towards the end, I remembered that the prophecy stated that Crystal and I would be in love. I smiled for the first time that night, really the first time in a while, and thought that maybe, just maybe, things were going to be in my favor.

**Third Person POV**

Unbeknownst to neither Jack nor North, a shadow was slowly creeping around outside, able to hear everything that was being said between the two guardians. It was in the shape of a man and it seemed to stare towards the sleeping Crystal on the bed. He smiled, a plan already forming in his head. While he had been trapped inside of his own prison for nearly 200 years, it was time to start working towards being believed in again, and he knew that this girl would be the key.

An almost imperceptible laugh escaped from the shadow and it faded away back towards civilization.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three: Awakening the Light

**Crystal's POV**

I should have become accustomed to the darkness by now. I woke up in that chamber surrounded by darkness, and now I seem trapped by it. I can't escape it and it pains me every moment of every day, maybe even only hours, time always seems to pass strangely in the dark.

It's been a while since I finally stopped screaming, my voice hoarse from the strain that I had put on it. By now, I have also realized that Man in Moon was a "leader" of the guardians. He was willing to help me and if he sent me into this darkness, there must be a good reason for it. From time to time, I thought I heard unfamiliar voices echoing around me, but as soon as I noticed them, they disappeared.

As a result of the continued silence, I was afraid that I would go mad with insanity. The darkness began to envelop me once again. I guess now I knew what it was like to be deaf and blind. An image suddenly came to me in my mind: there was another girl that kind of looked like me and she was asking, "Would you rather be deaf or blind?" I never got to hear what I replyed before the image faded. What was that? A memory? Who was that girl?

As I was pondering over this new development, I realized that if nothing else, I had to find some source of light. Somehow. I sighed in frustration and stomped my foot on the ground. Once I did so, a light began to peek through. Even though the hole was only the size of my foot, I felt blessed since I could finally see again. I bent down to see if I could reach through and somehow and bring out this random source of light and it was then that I found that it was not a hole at all. It was as though the ground had just started glowing with light after I stomped it.

The old man's words came back to me, "Don't ever lose sight, my little glow." I wonder… I raised my hand and concentrated on it, trying to force a light into being formed. When nothing happened, I gave up, muttering angrily to myself but as soon as my concentration waned, a wave of power swept through me. I fell to my knees and gasped rapidly. Such raw power, unlike anything that I had ever felt before. I shut my eyes and willed the feeling to release, go away, anything to stop this sickening feeling.

I opened my eyes, and immediately shut them again, realizing that I inadvertently had gotten what I wished for. The power had left me in the form of light, but now, there was so much that it was blinding and the air around me began to heat up to nearly unbearable temperatures. I began to cry softly to myself, wondering if this was the end of me.

As my tears began to subside, I realized the light dimmed as well. This caused an idea to formulate in my head. I remembered the frustration that I had felt just moments before and forced myself to feel that way again. The light flared dangerously, as if warning me that I was about to supersede my limits. As quickly as it came, I brought back my emotions down to more of a neutral tone and the light receded to a bearable level. I smiled to myself; I figured that if I was to be a guardian, I needed to have some kind of power and clearly, this was it. Unfortunately, it appeared to also be controlled by my emotions. Could be considerably dangerous in the future.

After all of the excitement at my discovery had worn off, I realized that there were voices again, but this time, they stayed. One of them I recognized as Jack Frost's. What was he doing here? What was I doing wherever I was?

Suddenly, instead of existing on a plane, I began to feel as though I was asleep and having a dream, rather than living it out. I tried to speak and found that I could with ease, "Hello?" No response, "Is somebody there?" Just then, something did appear to me, but it was definitely not what I was expecting. In front of me appeared a black horse, made out of sand, the same sand that I had seen Pitch Black using before in the memories. Its yellow eyes regarded me silently, not moving, not making a single sound. Suddenly, it began galloping towards me, faster and faster and faster until it was about to collide with me when…

I gasped, opened my eyes and sat straight up on the surface I was on. After a quick check, I concluded that I was no longer in that space that I had occupied since I met with the old man, I was back in the world of the living.

I swung my legs over the edge and found that what I was sleeping on was a bed. Surrounding me were countless machines, calculating who knows what. I saw an IV connected to my arm and I quickly removed it. Whoever put it there better have been glad I wasn't conscious when that was put there. I hate needles. I paused, I wonder why my head suddenly decided that I should remember that?

I walked out the door and was presented with a giant globe in the middle of the next room, covered in tiny twinkling dots. What surprised me more though were the yetis that were bumbling around the room, constructing toys and other games. I blinked multiple times to make sure that I was not dreaming, and then I heard the door across the room open.

Out of it, stepped the five guardians: Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, Easter Bunny, and last of all Jack Frost. They didn't seem to initially recognize that I was there as they were deep in discussion about something. I moved closer and I listened.

Easter Bunny: "But what if? What if we can't trust her?"

Santa Claus: "Don't be silly. If Man in Moon trusts her, I trust her."

Tooth Fairy: "We just have to wait and see okay? She's still unconscious."

Jack Frost: "Yeah, and besides, if the prophecy is right, then everything will work out."

I didn't get to hear anymore before Sandman looked up at me and his eyes widened. For a moment, I thought I saw an emotion other than surprise flash across his face, was it fear? I could not really ponder over that though because it was quickly replaced with a warm smile and he nudged Jack. Jack then looked to where Sandman was looking as well and his face broke out into a smile, similar to when I saw him with Jamie.

"Uhhh…guys?" Jack asked. The others looked towards him and he simply pointed towards me, "Clearly we aren't alone here." The other guardians saw me and they immediately fussed over me, saying that I should be in bed, I should be resting. After I insisted that I was fine nearly 100 times, they finally stopped worrying. They had me sit down in a chair and were going to let me ask any questions that I wanted when I looked towards the Sandman again and he had a faraway look in his eyes. He clearly didn't talk, but what was it that was bothering him so much? What did it all have to do with me?


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four: The Not-so-Light Promise

**Jack's POV**

It was difficult to keep my heartbeat down at a normal level with the revived Crystal sitting just across from me. I would have sat down next to her, but Sandy and Bunny beat me to it. I tried glaring at the two of them but they just ignored me. For the next hour, Crystal and I told our stories about what happened since she died. To see her so calmly talk about her time while she was dead was astounding. Compared to my experience, she seemed completely at ease; I guess she has had quite a bit of time to accept that as the truth. I didn't find out that I had died to become a guardian until nearly 200 years after I had transformed.

However, I did notice that she did not once mention anything about what happened to her that caused her to die. I merely attributed it to her not being ready to talk about it, probably because that might have been a bit too fresh. When she talked about the battle of Earth, I felt as though I had been transported back in time, to Burgess, to Jamie.

Something else that I never told the other guardians also came back to me in a flash. It was about 70 years after the events of the battle and I was around making merry with the children because it was winter break. I flew by Jamie's home and waved. He smiled and waved back to me. By then he was around 80 years old, gray hairs streaking across his head, yet he still had that same infectious smile. I ended up landing on his balcony, kneeling next to him as he gazed out towards his great-grandchildren that were struggling to build a snowman.

For a few minutes, we just waited together in silence. Eventually, I turned towards him and was surprised that he was crying. Tears were slowly streaking down his face, glistening in the bright winter sun. Before I could speak, Jamie said, "They are wonderful, aren't they?" He gestured towards his four great-grandchildren. They were all laughing and crying out in joy, I couldn't help but smile.

I answered Jamie slowly, "Yes…they are." I didn't know where he was going with this.

Jamie continued, "Don't think that I haven't noticed that you and the other guardians have been hanging around here a lot ever since the battle. I figured you would be around since this was your hometown in life, but the others have other duties, yet one of them are always here." He sighed wearily, "I'm old Jack. You look as you did all those years ago, yet it has been a long time for me. I can feel it in my bones." I tried to cut in to say that it wasn't true but Jamie didn't let me, "Don't lie to me Jack. It hurts for me to be able to play out in the snow with my family and I feel weaker than I did when I was young. I hate to admit it but I think my time is almost over on this earth."

For the first time in a while, I felt despair. Jamie had been my first believer and even as he grew up, he continued to believe in all of the guardians. To hear him talk about his death was depressing and brought me back to the present, which is basically the opposite of my center fun. I clutched at my hook staff and continued to watch Jamie. Although he had been crying before, now he stood taller than before and he seemed braver.

It was then that I made an impromptu decision that I have yet to tell my friends: I decided to tell Jamie about the prophecy. As I talked, I noticed that the children had given up on building the snowman and were beginning a snowball fight. I smiled involuntarily because I remembered how I first met Jamie, creating a snow obstacle course that ended up in Jamie losing his tooth, which in turn caused him to forget about the snow magic that had just occurred. Anyways, after I told Jamie everything that I knew, he was quiet for a few moments.

Finally he said, "Are you sure about all of this?" I replied that I knew that Sandy would never lie about anything. Jamie paused and continued, "Well that would explain why you guys have been hanging about here so seriously. Is that why you are here right now?"

"No," I quickly said, "Bunny is on guard right now. I was just in the neighborhood doing my last winter round here until tomorrow."

Jamie got quiet again and I was afraid about what he might say. He was rarely quiet. He called out to the children, "Kids! It's time to come inside for today!" He stood up slowly and turned towards me, "Jack, if this does end up being true, can you do something for me?"

"Anything." I replied without thinking.

"Okay, what I would like you to do for me is," Jamie coughed heavily and when he steadied his breathing continued, "to take care of whoever becomes the next guardian. I am guessing I won't live to see her take her place." He paused and looked at me warily, "It is a girl, yes?"

This threw me off for a second. I initially was going to say it was definitely a girl, but now that I thought about it, I was not really sure. I didn't really think about who I would love since I have been transformed because I was so busy making fun around the globe. I answered slowly, "I think so."

Jamie continued to look at me for a moment, shrugged and spoke again, "I want you to protect her, to not let her get hurt. I know I am speaking this way from an overprotective father standpoint. I remember how I used to laugh at people who talked like that. Now I see that it is true." He walked past me into the house. I was about to take flight to the sky when I heard, "Jack?" I turned and I could almost see the child Jamie instead of his older self. He smiled and waved again, "It was good to see you, and thank you." I smiled as well.

"Jack?"

I heard the voice and thought that it was Jamie but quickly realized that it wasn't because the voice belonged to a female.

"Jack! Pay attention!" Suddenly I was back at the North Pole sitting across from Crystal who was looking at me strangely. Tooth was shaking me and was clearly the originator of the voice I had heard before. She looked a combination of mad and worried, and I quickly realized that I had zoned out while I was reliving the memory.

I quietly apologized and made sure that I paid attention during the rest of the counsel. I saw that Crystal was eyeing me curiously and it was then that I realized that she might actually be interested in me already. My heart began to beat furiously at the thought. If that was true, things could really work out for me.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five: Light Meets Darkness

**Crystal's POV**

Jack was sure acting strangely with me being around. As I recalled from the memories the old man showed me, he had been pretty outgoing and loud. To see him so quiet was almost unnerving. Then again, I don't think that many people can come back from the dead with magical powers. As of now, Jack and I are the only people on the planet to have done so.

When I told my story about what happened to me, I decided not to mention the dark sand horse that had attacked me to bring me back into consciousness. I just assumed that it was a manifestation of what had frightened me before. I also decided not to mention it because it was clear that the guardians were trying to avoid any questions about my past. They mentioned the prophecy, but I had already heard about that since I was proof that it was true.

As they were describing to me about the lifestyle of a guardian, the yetis began to jump around restlessly and the elves bells on their head jingled wildly. I was confused as to what was happening, yet the other guardians jumped up and ran up to the globe. I watched in wonder as an image of Burgess (Tooth had explained that both Jack and I came from there. He was a bit too much out of it to talk about it) became distorted and the day seemed to disappear almost instantly. A cloud of darkness covered the town and I realized in fear that this darkness was made of the dark sand that I had seen before.

"Nightmare sand!" Jack cried, "In Burgess!"

"Ve must go! To the sleigh!" Santa Claus, who I now knew was called North around here. He moved faster than I imagined he could have and quickly disappeared. Sandy and Bunny took off after him. It was only Tooth, Jack, and me who were left here. Jack looked towards me for a moment, then said, "Can you stay here for a little bit while Tooth and I go to fix this?" I didn't even really nod before he continued, "Good. We can continue this later." Jack cried out to the air, "Wind, take me home!" Before my eyes, he shot into the air and disappeared through a hole in the ceiling.

Tooth seemed reluctant to stay with me so I told her, "Go. Your friends need you. I can take care of myself." She smiled and mouthed "Thank you" before she took off after Jack. It was just after she left that I realized that I was alone in North's toyshop, the dream of every child that believed in Santa Claus. I smiled inadvertently and began to search around for a few minutes, glancing back up at the big globe occasionally. The display was still up so I was able to watch what was happening there from here.

The guardians had just shown up to battle when the display fluctuated. I ran over to the control panel yet I couldn't understand any of the blinking lights. I was about to push random buttons when the whole thing just turned off. The globe was still functioning but now I could not see what was happening to the guardians.

I was about to try and get it back online when I heard a dark laugh somewhere nearby. Involuntarily, I spun around and dropped into a protective stance. Somewhere in my mind I was wondering about how I knew about this, but I decided to drop it for now. There was something a bit more pressing at the moment. I scanned around the room but I could not see anything. It was now when I realized that the workshop had been too quiet. There were no yetis, no elves, and no toys flying around like when I initially woke up here.

"Crystal," a voice purred, "My dear sweet Crystal." My eyes widened and I recognized immediately who it was. It was Pitch Black, and he spoke in the same dark tone that I had heard in Jamie's memories. I think a similar fear had struck him at the time as well. I struggled to keep my expression blank but after seeing what Pitch could do, I definitely didn't feel brave.

"Finally, I get to meet you face to face!" Pitch stepped out into the light, darkness swirling around him like a second cloak. His golden eyes locked onto mine and he smiled, "Well, well, well. We even have the same eye color. That in itself says something."

"What?" I thought. I had his same golden eyes? That could explain why Sandy, Jack, and Bunny all seemed to act strangely around them. Maybe I reminded them of him. Finally I found my voice to respond, "What then does that say?" I tried to sound braver than I was but it really came out little more than a squeak.

Pitch chuckled, "My dear, it says that you and I are destined to be together as a team." His eyes widened and he smiled mischievously.

My heart pounded uncontrollably in my chest, "No. I'm _nothing _like you," I hissed. I can't be anything like him. He was evil, completely evil.

"Really?" Pitch questioned, "Or do you just believe that based on what you were shown?" I was about to respond indifferently when he said, "Let me show you my story. You saw the guardians' story yes? Weren't you always the one who believed in equal chances?" I couldn't argue with his logic. Pitch continued, "How about my point of view, my story?" He crossed the distance between us quickly and before I could even react, he held my head between his hands. I couldn't even scream before I felt something inside of me almost relax at his touch. My stance dropped and I almost fell into his arms. Suddenly I remembered the horse that I had seen before I awakened. Could that be the reason why I felt so calm?

Pitch smiled gently and he spoke in a tone I had never heard from him before, gently and kindly, "I need you for my salvation."

Before I could even question what he meant, I felt my relaxation become numbness and I fell into darkness once again.

**Jack's POV**

On the screen back at North's it appeared that the cloud of darkness was huge and should be considered as a huge threat; however, when we all arrived, it was merely a shapeless cloud. There were no Nightmares and it seemed that everybody in the town was fine. When we touched down on the ground, the cloud dissipated into the atmosphere.

We were all puzzled and North was the first to speak, "I don't get it. What just happened here?" We all were thinking the same thing. Why draw us out here when there was clearly no threat?

Suddenly Sandy was jumping up and down and waved his arms around. I watched as he used his sand to mold into an image above his head, his traditional way of communication. It slowly formed into the image of a hand, with a tiny star that was a hole in the air, "Crystal?" I asked, "What about Crystal?" Sandy focused again and now the hand shape exploded back into individual grains of sand, and just then I realized what we had just done.

"Guys! Back to the North Pole!" I called on the wind, and rose into the air, snow flying by and the temperature dropping radically. The more I thought about it, the more terrified that I became and the weather reacted even more abnormally.

Tooth looked me warily, "Look Jack, I know you want to be near Crystal in order to fulfill the prophecy, but, if it is true, it will come true in its own time. You can't rush stuff like this." She began to fly as well and placed a hand on my shoulder. I turned toward her and she continued, "This attack happening consecutively to Crystal's awakening can't be a coincidence. We need to stay here and gather the facts."

"No!" I cried, whipping out of her arms reach. I yelled back to them, "That's what I realized. Think about it! There appears to be an attack, we all rush out to fight the evil and…"

"…leave Crystal all alone." Bunny finished. His eyes widened and quickly the others understood the gravity of the situation: we have been duped. This was merely a distraction while Crystal remained vulnerable. We didn't even know if she had any power or if she did, what said power was.

I left the group and flew as quickly back to the North Pole as I could, my heart hammering in my chest. She was alright. She had to be. I silently begged that Sandy's conclusion was wrong.

I burst into North's workshop and I gasped. The workshop's floor was littered in broken toys, glass, and black sand. The yetis and elves had all congregated into an area of the floor, forming a circle. I burst into the circle and I gasped. Crystal lay horizontal, not quite on the floor, hovering inches above the ground. Crystal's eyes were wide open, yet she did not seem to recognize anything around her as she lay in a kind of awake coma. Her chest rose and fell rapidly and surrounding her was a golden case of light.

I fell to my knees beside her and attempted to lift her from this position yet pain shot through me. I barely cried out though, because then I noticed the other thing that was on the ground below her. Below her was some black sand arranged to form the phrase, "Let's have a little fun, shall we?"

My staff fell from my hands and at this moment, I felt completely powerless. The black sand should have been a dead giveaway as to who was behind this but the message just made my intuition even harder to ignore. But how? How could it possibly be him? Nobody believed in him anymore.

I could sense that the other guardians had arrived but I didn't even bother to try and respond to any of them. By now, I felt lost. Even though I spent so long alone, this was the first time that I had ever felt lost. It was all because of Pitch's return. It sickened me to even think his name. And he knew that Crystal was special. How? I had no idea. I felt ill. I had promised Jamie that Crystal would not get hurt and here she was in some sort of coma once again, with Pitch's interference written all over it. At that moment on, I swore to myself, I would do whatever it means necessary to protect her and to never let her get hurt ever again.


	7. Chapter Six

Sixth Guardian

Chapter Six: Before the Darkness

**Crystal's POV**

The fact that I was trapped in the darkness did not surprise me. I have spent much of the past few weeks in darkness, what does this matter to me? However, I did remember what Pitch had said before he caused me to go unconscious, "I need you for my salvation." What on Earth could that mean? I had not even known of Pitch until after I had somehow died, yet he seemed to know about me. There was that prophecy about the new guardian, but maybe what if there was another part to it that they did not tell me?

Slowly images began to float around me, kind of similar to what had happened while I was in the afterlife. I saw a little girl, she could not have been older than 7 running towards me, with hair as black as the night. Her smile and giddy laughter caused me to laugh as well. Wait, what is happening? I don't have control over what I am doing. Am I reliving Pitch's memories as if I was actually him?

"Emily Jane!" I cried out, "What are you doing here? You should be at home with your mother."

Emily Jane smiled innocently and replied, "But I love riding out here with you father! All among the asteroids. It is so much fun!" Asteroids? I now took a moment to take in my surroundings and nearly gasped audibly. The place was just so beautiful. I was standing in seemingly endless green field, the grasses swaying gently in the evanescent wind. The sky was littered with asteroids but were somehow not plummeting towards the ground towards us. I turned back towards my daughter and she was now not smiling. She frowned, "Father? Are you going back to work? To guard the big bad prison?"

I knelt down to her level and said, "Yes sweetheart. I cannot stay and play today." Interrupting me was the alarm that I had strapped to my side. My heart jumped into my throat and I realized that I needed to leave, "I have to go. There is trouble down at the prison! Be a good girl and go back to your mother until I get back okay?"

Emily Jane scowled, but sighed quietly, "Yes father. But please, be careful."

I smiled back at her, "Of course, anything to please my princess."

The image burst into thousands of sand particles and reshaped into another image. This time, in my arms I was holding a woman whose neck lolled from side to side. I heard myself wail in anger and grief. It was now that I realized that this woman must have been Pitch's wife. I was surrounded by broken glass shards, glancing into one showed me that I only barely looked like Pitch, I looked human, almost as if…he was not an immortal. His clothing looked similar to what he had worn in the earlier memory and I saw that now his eyes were a vibrant green. I gasped to myself: what could have happened to him to make him into who he is in my time? In my mind I could hear myself thinking, wondering, and agonizing over where is Emily Jane.

The image warped into another pretty quickly, this time I was inside of a building with many different jail cells. Behind them were a variety of different creatures, yet I eventually passed by one that was different from all of the others. It was completely airtight, and there seemed to be nothing behind it. Then as I listened more closely, I could hear screaming, whinnying, different shouts attempting to obtain my attention.

I was about to leave when what I heard next stopped me in my tracks.

"Father?"

Adrenaline surged its way into my bloodstream. I croaked, "Emily Jane?"

"Help me father!" It was coming from the room of blackness. I didn't even really think about what I was doing, I immediately wrenched open the door and dove into the darkness.

It felt as though I was suffocating. Thousands of screams surrounded me and I could no longer hear that of my daughter's. Suddenly, something began to flow into my mouth, my nose, my eyes, my ears. It felt as though my head was going to explode. I screamed in agony as a coldness spread from my head and feet, slowly up my body, towards my heart. It nearly consumed me fully when the image burst into light. I groaned and somehow found the strength to flee. I passed by a mirror and was shocked to see myself clothed from head to toe in black shadows. What surprised me the most were the golden eyes that were now shining coolly at me. With a start, I felt myself physically wrenched out of the memory, flying closer and closer to the sun. It's harsh heat enveloped me and I closed my eyes. Just before all feeling left me, I felt a tear fall slowly down my face.


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: Becoming Glow: The Guardian of Light

**Jack POV**

It's been nearly a day since Crystal fell into her awake coma, I haven't left her side for any of it. Most people thought this day to be odd since it was an exceptionally warm winter's day, but I didn't care. All that mattered was Crystal.

I was especially worried that Pitch would come back to attack. His threat did not pass me by in the slightest. I knew that Crystal was in danger. The other guardians have been attending to their other duties, yet they seemed to always find time to try and talk me into leaving Crystal's side for just a moment. I didn't need to leave to do anything. I was an immortal guardian, I did not need sleep, food, relaxation, nothing. I just needed Crystal to wake up.

The world has been exceptionally quiet, almost as if holding its breath, waiting for what would happen next. Occasionally I heard Crystal murmur quietly and my heart leaped because I thought she would be awake, yet I saw that she was merely talking in her comatose sleep. I didn't understand any of it, it was just gibberish to me.

I had basically zoned out when I noticed that the golden coffin of light surrounding her began to brighten. I jumped up and backed away in fear, the heat becoming painful to bear. Shielding my eyes, the light glowed brighter until it suddenly faded away. I lowered my hands and elation flew into my heart. Crystal was standing up and looking towards me, her golden eyes piercing my physical body. She was bathed in a golden light, kind of almost like Pitch except this was warmer and kinder.

The other guardians flanked behind me, waiting to see what would happen here, waiting to see how I would react. The light surrounding Crystal began to dim and I walked towards her. Now I could see that she was actually crying. I immediately asked, "Crystal, are you okay? Why are you crying?"

Her light faded and she slumped forward slightly. I caught her with ease and raised her into my arms. She stopped crying and murmured, "I'm glad that I'm awake." My heart broke slightly to hear how weak her voice was. I carried her to the infirmary just so that she could sit down on a comfortable surface while she told us about what happened after the guardians had left.

She told us that the display on the globe went out and she couldn't see what was happening anymore in Burgess, so she was going to try to get it back online when Pitch showed up. She said that they briefly fought before she fell back into the coma. I knew that that would never happen again. I needed to protect her this time, now and forever.

**Crystal's POV**

I don't know why I decided to lie to the guardians about what exactly happened with Pitch. I didn't tell them about the conversation between us before I went unconscious and what I had seen while I was out. It seemed a bit too personal and honestly the conversation didn't do anything really. He just tried to get me to join his side. Nothing really significant since I think I should stay with the guardians.

They told me about what the workshop had looked like when they returned, finding out that the cloud of dust was a trap. I was a bit confused since Pitch and I didn't really fight, and when I passed out, that would basically be the end of it.

Anyways, North brought out this gigantic book that crackled with age at the spine. He opened it and explained, "Crystal, you have been brought back to us in order to become a guardian. We have spent the past hours explaining to you what it means to be a guardian, to protect the children with everything, even our lives. Is this what you want?" I nodded immediately. I just came back from the dead, lived through generations of memories, how could I not become a guardian now? North nodded and said, "Then it is time you take oath."

"Do you, Crystal Devonharr, vow to watch over the children of the world? To guard them with your life – their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams? For they are all that we have, all that we are and all that we ever will be?" North looked up to me, giving me my cue. Before I answered, I looked towards the others and noticed that Jack looked unbelievably nervous yet excited. But I noticed Sandy's expression because it was not happy, it was worried. Could he just be worried about Pitch? Something in my mind told me that this wasn't all that he was worried about.

I also remembered the old man's words to me before I left him, 'Don't ever lose sight, my little glow." At that moment I said, "I will on one condition." Everyone tensed significantly and Jack somehow got a little paler and his eyes were wide in fear. I added, "Nothing major, but I would no longer like to be called 'Crystal'. That name died with me back in life." Everyone relaxed quickly and a sigh was released around the room.

Tooth put her hand on my shoulder and asked, "So what do you want to be called?" I already had my answer ready for her before she even began talking.

"From now you may call me Glow." I smiled, "It holds an importance to me."

"But why?" Bunny asked, "Why 'Glow"?"

I smiled even more broadly, "Because of this." I opened my hand and allowed the power that I had been resisting ever since I awoke to flow out of my fingertips. A cloud of light formed and surrounded the globe, giving it a more shining feel to it than before. Out of my left hand I made a glowing ball of light that caught on fire. It did not burn me, yet I noticed that Jack was watching me warily.

I shut off the pathway to the power and calmed my emotions and all of the light that I had produced vanished. Actually all of the light had vanished except for the natural sunlight. "Ummm. Glow?" Bunny asked.

"Sorry, sorry." I muttered and somehow managed to return the light to its original state, "I'm still trying to make sure that I can control it." Everyone looked a bit shocked at this new discovery of my power.

Tooth questioned me, "How did you know that you could do that?"

I replied curtly, "The moon told me so. I know it has told you all many things, hasn't it? He didn't exactly tell me, but he helped me to discover it. One small setback though is that it appears to be tied to my emotions." I could have sworn that I saw despair in Jack's eyes and something in them break as I said those words.

North quickly recovered from his shock and continued with the oath, "Well congratulations Glow, you are now and forevermore, a Guardian!"


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight: The Bright Start

**Jack POV**

This is really bad.

Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that Glow is a guardian now so that I could have a chance to woo her more easily. But she has light and heat powers. In other words, FIRE. I can't be around fire for very long, it makes me uncomfortable. And when she said that her powers were tied to her emotions, I felt even more despair. It basically means I can't really do anything to make her laugh because if I do, I could conceivably be blasted to bits. Great situation I'm in right now isn't it?

I'm not going to stop fighting though. I will do what I can to protect her and if a prophecy states that we can be in love, then I won't stop fighting for that future either. I promised that to myself when she was attacked by Pitch. I promised that to Jamie.

Therefore, right after the ceremony, I flew up and said, "Okay since all of the legal stuff is done, I should help Glow get settled into the idea of her new duties right?"

All of the others, even Glow, stared at me. Bunny asked, "Are you insane mate? You could get yourself killed if you stay around her right now." Glow seemed to depress slightly at that statement and Bunny directed himself towards her, "For right now I think that Tooth, Sandy, or I should train and help her settle in because we need to make sure that her power is under control before we keep her around in cold zones or around cold people. No offense." He quickly added.

I sighed in resignation. As much as I hated to admit it, Bunny was right. I would be signing a death wish if I was to stay around her very closely at this time. I replied, "Fine. But can I choose who she goes with?" The others shrugged, and I took that as a yes, "Okay, Bunny, since it is nowhere near Easter right now, can she go with you? You being the whole spring season and all…"

"Sure," Bunny replied. He waved Glow over and said, "Come on you little fire starter, I get to show you my place." He tapped the ground with his paw and a tunnel was formed. He and Glow jumped down into it and disappeared.

Tooth flew over to me and hugged me gently. She whispered, "Don't worry. You have a lot of time and so does she. It will work out, I promise." She flew higher, "I'm going back to my palace. You know how to reach me if you need me." She flitted through the ceiling and disappeared into the early morning light. Something though kept bugging me about what has happened up until now: Where does Pitch fit into all of this? How did he come back? I bristled slightly when I remembered that Pitch likes to work quickly. It won't be long until his plan is discernable.

I decided that since I basically ditched my winter duties yesterday, I had to especially work today. There wasn't much that I could do waiting around here anyways. So I left North's workshop and began my trip around the world, waving my staff around in circles to create a small amount of snowfall. Before long, night had fallen and I was wandering around in Burgess. I looked up towards the sky and saw Sandy in his sand cloud, creating dream strands that extended into all of the houses of children. I waved up towards him and he tipped a hat that he made of sand towards me.

I decided to head up back to North's to rest up for tomorrow. Although it had not completely left my mind, the whole issue with Pitch and Crystal had mostly been put into the back of my mind. I was still worried, but creating joy for the children definitely helped to distract me. I arrived at North's quickly and was greeted by Phil the Yeti.

"Hey Phil!" I said, "Things been good around here?" Phil shrugged and gestured towards a pile of hundreds of dolls, half of them with blue dresses, half with red, "I thought you would already know that North wants the dolls red?" I laughed. He shrugged again and pointed towards North's office, "He in there?" I asked. Phil nodded and walked back towards his doll post.

I walked into his office and ducked to avoid a green toy plane that was flying low. North was holding a chisel in his hand and there was a block of ice on the desk in front of him. Part of the top appeared as though it was chopped off already, and it looked like that he had only begun his new project. North looked up towards me when I walked in. He smiled tiredly and got up to stand in front of me, "Jack. Jack. Are you okay? With everything that has happened?" His eyes were still wide but they were not filled with wonder at this moment, now there was only concern and fear.

"I'll be fine," I muttered in reply. Everyone had been asking me that lately and at the moment I was just sick of it.

North stood by me in silence for a moment and then he said, "You know Jack, ven things start feeling too stressful and hard, I start working with ice, making my magnificent sculptures." He gestured towards the large block of ice by his desk and continued, "At the moment I am working on my greatest creation. I am making sculptures of each of us. You, me, Tooth, Bunny, Sandy, even Glow."

I looked at him in confusion, "What is your point North? You don't say stuff like this for no reason."

He smiled in response and said, "I am doing this for the people that I love, that I care about. Maybe if you did the same it would remind you to not worry as much, to remember that we are all together fighting to protect the vorld." I lowered my head and at that moment looked at my hand holding my staff. On the top of the staff, some winter magic swirled around it until finally an ice heart was formed, a locket.

North smiled even more broadly, "Since Glow has the magic of heat, you will have to work on that so that it can withstand melting. It could represent your relationship that is undying, yes?"

I finally smiled in return and said, "Yes North, it is. And thank you. I didn't realize it before but, I am the Guardian of Fun. If I can't have fun then I shouldn't be the Guardian. We beat Pitch before and we can do it again, perhaps this time permanently."

Just then Sandy burst into the office and above his head was an Easter egg made out of sand, accompanied by a star made out of sand. He looked extremely agitated and worried and instantly I realized what it meant, "Bunny and Glow are in trouble! We have to get to the Warren!"

Sandy, North, and I quickly moved to the lobby where we had Bunny open a tunnel before and jumped inside. All I could do was hope that we weren't too late.

**Crystal's POV**

Going down those tunnels towards Bunny's home/stronghold was pretty exhilarating. I made sure not to let myself get too excited but still, I felt joy and fun at the ride. Quickly we reached the bottom and I gasped in awe. It was absolutely beautiful, kind of like how I had imagined a Utopia. Green grass, plants, and other exotic looking flowers and things were all around and just the air made me feel as though I should sing. It was a place that I could barely have even imagined would have existed.

Bunny laughed and said, "You know fire-starter, I wasn't sure that I could trust you before but now I think we can be really good friends.

I felt really happy and just relaxed, and I felt my power growing again so I fought back some of the emotion.

Bunny seemed to notice my reaction and he smiled asking, "So was spring your favorite time of year?"

I nodded in reply and said, "Well most of my favorite holidays are in winter, but I just love spring because of the life and the color. It just always is so beautiful."

Bunny laughed, "Well do you like Easter at least?"

I laughed back, "I love Easter. I love other holidays too so I can't say that I have a favorite."

"Fair enough," Bunny replied. Since I had first woken up in North's workshop, Bunny had seemed tense and worried, but now it looked like he was happy and proud.

Although something from before was bothering me, "Bunny, why was Jack so overprotective of me back there?"

His ears straightened up and his eyes widened. I knew immediately that that was not a question that I should have asked, "I'm sorry, I guess it is not my business…"

"No," Bunny interrupted, "It is your business. You are a part of the Guardians now. It is just that," he sighed, "I don't know how much I'm really supposed to tell you." I waited patiently, silently begging him to start giving me answers. He sighed again and said, "Well I guess I can tell you this much, just don't tell Jack that I told you okay? He might get upset and he is not a nice person to be around when upset." I nodded in affirmation and he said finally, "Well seeing how two of the Guardians are fairies, one of them a bunny, and one of them an old man, now that there is a new human-like being on the team, he is curious. He hasn't had this opportunity before. He is especially nervous because you are a girl."

It took a moment for it to hit me fully, "Wait so…he likes me?" I gasped. Bunny nodded slightly. It felt as though my world was rocking from side to side without waiting for me to catch up. It makes sense now, how he was always looking around nervously, very concerned for my well-being, almost to the point of being controlling. It all made sense now.

His ears cocked to one side and he looked at me curiously, "I'm certainly not an expert on the subject matter but…do you feel anything for him?"

I considered his question very seriously. After serious mental deliberation, I finally said quietly, "The real answer is that I don't know yet. I have yet to stay awake for 24 hours straight, Pitch might be after me and I just came back from the dead. Things have been really chaotic and I haven't really thought about a relationship," I looked towards Bunny and he nodded slightly, urging me to continue, "But from what I saw from the memories, Jack seems like a really cool person when you get to know him and there is something about his eyes, something that draws me to him. I can't really explain it. I just think though that I would need time in order for something more serious and right now I don't have it." I wiped tears from my eyes that were threatening to cascade down my face.

Bunny pulled me towards him into a hug and said, "It's okay little fire starter. It's okay. We are all going to get through this together, you have all of us to help you through this." I nodded and in the back of my mind I realized that when Pitch died and became immortal, he didn't have anybody to help him. He did not have a choice in the matter. I pitied him, he didn't choose this life.

Bunny let go of me and said, "Okay now that all that sentimental stuff is over with, let me show you around really quick and then we can maybe work on your powers. Although I did notice that you didn't release too much power just now." I shrugged. I had felt myself heat up slightly but it hadn't really been particularly noticeable before.

He showed me the egg making process from the initial creation to the color, decorating, and finally transportation. It was weird seeing the eggs walk on two feet but at this point, virtually anything is possible. Finally we ended up in some kind of clearing and he called a bunch of stone sentinel eggs to the opposite side. He turned towards me and said, "Okay now, you said before that you think your power is tied to your emotions. What emotions would you say it is tied to?"

I thought about it for a moment and said, "I think really any powerful emotion: joy, anger, despair, maybe others too. Although I think in terms of love or like it is in extremely low quantities because before when we were talking I was starting to get emotional and I felt the power, but it was definitely in a weaker quantity."

Okay so one thing we need to determine is how well you control your emotions and if you can't, come up with a solution that allows you to control them better. Can't have you hurting anybody by accident." I nodded in assent and he said, "What are you feeling right now?"

"Hopeful," I immediately replied.

Bunny smiled and said, "Comes with the territory, I am the Guardian of Hope in children after all. Anything else?"

"Worry, fear," I shivered slightly, "But only barely right now."

Bunny seemed to think on this for a moment and finally said, "Okay, we need to exemplify that worry and fear so it is stronger than the hope because that can happen. So what is going to happen is this: these stone eggs are going to attack you," at my expression he quickly added, "I need to teach you how to fight as well so they won't go too hard on you, but you need to know how to defend yourself. I don't know what you got from coming back to life. Are you ready?" My heartbeat began to race and I dropped into a protective stance. "Go!" Bunny cried.

The eggs rushed me from all sides. From then it was kind of a blur. Not like I was knocked out or anything but it seemed as though my mind itself was thinking and reacting so quickly, I had barely processed one thing before I was in the middle of another. I felt my power come willingly to my fingertips and willed beams of light towards the eggs. After about what felt like minutes, Bunny called for a halt. He walked up towards me and said, "You must have retained your training in life. You know many different types of fighting and are proficient in each of them. Combined with your power, you were almost like a fighting machine."

"How long was I fighting for?" I asked. I realized my power was actually still in full thrust and I was actually glowing from the excess. I calmed myself down and the glow faded with it.

"You were training for nearly three hours." Bunny stated.

"How is that even possible?" I wondered aloud, "I'm barely even tired."

Bunny was looking at me curiously again and said, "I don't know, but whatever you were doing, keep doing it. You were in complete control and you fought marvelously."

"Marvelously? That is too short a compliment."

The voice came from nowhere in particular but I knew I would never forget that voice. Only just then I noticed that the beauty that I had seen when I first arrived seemed dimmer and more sinister. Bunny stiffened beside me and I felt him stay near me protectively.

Pitch's voice echoed again, "She fought brilliantly with the grace of a ballerina! Care for an encore?" Nightmare sand appeared on all sides and formed into thousands of horses. Bunny pointed to his egg sentinels and waved them back towards the entrance. I knew immediately that he was calling for the help of the other guardians.

I still did not see Pitch but it felt as though he was right next to me and said, "You go by Glow now? How sweet and charming. Let's see how you fare against my army!" With that, the horses began to charge.

Before I hadn't really felt anything, but now I felt fear creep into my veins. Before the eggs wouldn't really try to kill me, but Pitch wanted to capture me, and he would probably do anything to do it. Bunny charged them, letting out a battle cry as he disappeared into the midst with his two boomerangs. I let the power flow out a little and I saw that I was glowing again. Actually once I did that, the horses came to a halt before me and they slowly kneeled down in front of me.

"Huh?" I wondered. Was it because of my power or was it because of the horse that was in my head? I still haven't told the other guardians about that either. What would they be able to do about it anyways? I let my glow slowly fade and closed off the pathway to my power. They began to whinny nervously at that and I decided to go back to where I was. Better safe than sorry.

I heard Bunny far away fighting the horses that hadn't noticed me but it didn't really seem to faze me. I went up to the horses and touched their black sand manes. They whinnied happily at my touch and light began to pour through my fingertips. It travelled through its entire body until it all turned a bright white and then it just faded away.

"Interesting. Very interesting," I heard faintly nearby. Before I could really react I heard thumping towards the entrance and when I looked over, I saw Sandy, Jack, and North all appear from the tunnel. I gasped slightly because Jack looked furious, more so than I have ever seen before. I put my focus back onto the horses still kneeling in front of me and I began to work. Each horse simply faded away into the atmosphere after I touched them and finally it was over. I looked over towards Jack and I saw that there were nearly one hundred frozen horses at his feet, not fading away just as mine had.

Before I could really react, Bunny bounded up to me and asked, "You okay Glow?" I nodded in affirmation.

"Vat exactly happened here?" North asked to both Bunny and myself.

I heard Bunny begin to explain that we were ambushed but somehow it was muffled. In the forefront of my mind was what had happened to the horses. I remembered that darkness is merely an absence of light. Darkness isn't necessary for there to be light. I guess because they have been without light for so long, they wanted light. They wanted to be free. I decided that that could be the only explanation and then moved on to the issue with Pitch. He was a normal man before the darkness poisoned his mind and body. What if there was a way to maybe reverse the process? What if there was a way for Pitch to be a mortal man again?


	10. Chapter Nine

**Chapter 9: Bright Future**

**Jack's POV**

More than anything, I just feel relieved and happy.

There was a point in the battle where I ended up nearby Glow and briefly watched her touch the horses and make them fade away. My instinct told me to run to the opposite side because she was glowing, meaning she was hot. However, even when being right next to her, I barely felt anything in terms of heat. I felt a smile creep onto my face and I knew right then that things were beginning to turn around for me.

After the battle I noticed that Glow was standing off by herself, a determined yet confused expression on her face. She seemed to be deep in thought yet despite that, I decided that I should talk to her, maybe begin the relationship. But just as I approached, she jumped out of her state and smiled weakly towards me. I asked her, "You okay?"

She blushed slightly and quietly replied, "Yeah, despite everything." The air around her seemed alive, more so than the Warren around her. Something about was just electrifying, pulling me towards her.

I decided to take the plunge, "Hey, I was wondering, since you seem to have control of your powers….I.I.I was wondering…" I stammered. What the heck was wrong with me? Where is the confident fun person that I have always been? Why is my heart beating so fast? Why do I feel faint?

I cleared my throat and before I could start talking again, Glow stopped me, "Jack Frost, are you trying to ask me out?" she asked probing, mischievously grinning.

"Um…I…uh," I nervously sputtered. I rubbed the back of my head, trying to regain my composure. This was way more difficult than I thought it would be. For years I laughed at the boys stumbling around their words when they tried talking to their crushes, but now I realized that I was wrong to laugh. This was terrifying!

Glow smiled gently and gently grabbed my hand, new feelings crawling up and down my arms. It was similar to my powers but it was somehow different, more numbing. She spoke quietly, "I would love to get to know you a bit better Jack. How about we both go back to North's and then you can show me how you work." Her smile broke out wider and she pulled her hand away and ran back giggling towards the other guardians.

I just stood there dumbly for a moment in shock. Then what just happened slowly hit me and I grinned, jumping into the air, "YEAH!" I roared. She said yes! She said yes! All fears of the future faded away: Pitch, worry of rejection, everything. All I had to do now was just not screw things up. What could possibly go wrong?

**Crystal's POV**

I smiled to myself as I heard Jack cheer in happiness. Bunny was definitely right, Jack had fallen for me, hard. I stood in silence as Bunny finished up with North and decided that we all should just go back to the North Pole for the time being. On the trip back, I considered what I had determined about Pitch and wondered if that was why I was brought back to life as the Guardian of Light. Am I just here in order to save Pitch once and for all? I knew that there was only one person in the world that could possibly have the answers that I seek: Man in Moon.

I looked up towards the sky and turned to North, "I've been thinking about something for a little while now. How do you talk to Man in Moon? He helped me come here, but how to you talk to him?"

His left eyebrow raised up in curiosity and he met my gaze. He replied, "We rarely contact Man in Moon, he contacts us when he knows we need help."

I narrowed my eyes, "So he is kind of like God then right?"

"It depends on vat you believe in. That is vat many people on Earth believe." He tilted his head at an angle, "Vhy are you so curious about Man in Moon all of a sudden?"

Oh man. I didn't think this through. Think fast. Think fast. I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "I just want to thank him for everything that he has done for me." Please work please work.

North seemed to accept this as an answer and says, "Well maybe you can try talking towards the moon. Maybe he will respond to you. Although I do suggest that you wait until the full moon at the workshop. That is the best time to ask him a question. Maybe he vill answer." Finally we did arrive at the workshop and I looked up towards the sky and noticed that the moon was not full. North noticed my gaze and said, "The day you arrived was the night of a full moon. It will take another month until you can talk to him, I think."

I sighed in resignation. I needed to know the answer to my question about Pitch as soon as possible. The fate of the world could be at stake. I decided that I would ask him every night and just hope that maybe one day he would answer.

But in the meantime, I should just focus on the present and on Jack. The joy in his eyes when I said yes was infectious. I giggled slightly to myself and I felt that despite everything, things seemed to be going right for once.

**Sorry that this is such a short chapter but I have been extremely busy recently and will try to post a little more frequently atm. **


	11. Chapter Ten

Chapter 10: The City of Light and Ice

**Crystal's POV**

A few hours passed and I finally realized that I had no idea what Jack was going to do, how I should dress, and really what I should just expect in general. I decided to talk to Tooth since she would probably be the only one who could understand my predicament. After asking for directions from North, he just whipped out a snow globe and whispered, "Tooth Palace." Sand seemed to swirl around magically until finally he smashed the globe on the ground, opening a swirling vortex. My dumbfounded expression appeared to amuse North and he winked at me, saying, "Hey, I can't use the sleigh all the time. Even though everybody loves the sleigh."

I thanked him and stepped into the portal, finding myself in a vast golden castle, little fairies flitting about from here to there. They seemed to be mini versions of Tooth, each of them carrying a tiny white tooth, all flying towards a gazebo in the center. I looked up and saw Tooth there and waved. She spotted me and waved back. Before I knew it, she was right in front of me, eyes sparkling with happiness.

"So are you excited?!" She said with glee. Man was she in a good mood today.

"You already heard?" I asked curiously.

She waved her hand, "Of course I know! Jack was just here a little while ago asking for advice about what to do." She smiled knowingly and continued, "And I bet that that is why you are here too!" My face must have given it away. She giggled, "Oh this is so exciting. I'm so happy that there is another girl in the group now! We can talk about girl stuff!" I raised an eyebrow and she added, "Well maybe not just girl stuff but also other critical things, like boys!"

I smiled in response; Tooth was unbelievably hyper, a lot more than I had anticipated. She finally seemed to calm down enough to ask, "So, Glow, what can I help you with?"

"Well…" I trailed off. What should I ask first? "So since you talked to Jack, I guess you know what he has planned for me?" Her expression confirmed it, "Can you tell me so I know how to prepare?"

She shook her head furiously, "No! I can't!" She giggled, "It's going to be a surprise! But I can help you prepare!" For the next hour, she showed me different dresses that I would be able to wear and finally decided on a lightning blue long sleeved dress that fell down to my knees. Tooth was really excited again, because blue was Jack's favorite color.

By the time I was ready, night had fallen around the palace and when I looked in the mirror, I barely even recognized myself. My golden eyes didn't seem as threatening and almost seemed to add a mysterious glow around me. I was outside of the palace watching the stars when I sensed a presence behind me. Turning, I saw Jack with a bunch of flowers in one hand, is staff in the other, wearing a blue polo shirt and dress pants. I heard him gasp quietly under his breath and I knew then what he thought of me. His face broke out into a dazzling smile, with perfect white teeth.

"Wow." I heard him whisper, "Glow, you look…you look beautiful."

I blushed at his compliment and replied, "You look handsome yourself." His normally pale cheeks turned pink, he looked so cute blushing like that.

"So…uh are you ready to go?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, depending on where we are going." I smiled back.

"Don't worry, you will like it," he pulled a snow globe from his pocket and whispered something, I didn't hear what he said. In moments, another swirling portal was open in front of me. Jack gave me the flowers then and took me by the hand and quietly asked, "You trust me right?"

My heart felt as though it could break in two from hearing that. The only reason why somebody says something like that is if their trust was compromised before. I looked into his crystal eyes, squeezed his hand tightly and replied, "More than anybody I ever met."

His eyes lost the guarded look from the moment before and I knew that whatever happened, Jack would always be there for me.

Together, we stepped through the portal and when I landed on solid ground again, my breath left me in one great wave. In front of me was an entire place made of snow and ice, but what made even more wonderful was that through the ice, there were colored lights. So the palace was a spectrum of bright colors and lights. It was unbelievable, nothing like anything I could have ever imagined.

Jack was gauging my reaction and could tell that I was shocked. He said, "This isn't my home since I don't really have an official home yet, but it is a place that I like to come to every once in a while. This is Harbin, China." He paused, "So you like it right?"

"Oh Jack," I breathed, "This is so beautiful, almost like magic." I thought about what he said about where we are, "Wait Harbin? Isn't that called the city of ice too?"

He grinned sheepishly, "Yeah, I guess that's why I like coming here. I'm drawn to it, you know?" He pointed to the roof of the palace and said, "I was hoping that we could dine under the stars tonight, if that's all right with you."

I lowered my head and replied, "That sounds perfect."

I looked up and now he was looking at his feet nervously and he said, "Well the easiest way to get up there is for me to fly us both…" I knew what he was asking but before I could answer he quickly added, "But we could just walk up too if you don't want to fly."

"No, flying sounds perfect," I interjected, "I've always wanted to know what it was like to fly freely through the air." He seemed to relax slightly and with a wave of his staff, the wind around us began to blow harder until finally I felt my feet leave the ground.

I wobbled unsteadily in the air and I felt something solid and cold enclose around me. Then I heard Jack's voice, "It's okay, I've got you. I won't let you fall." His arms were locked around me in a tight grip, waiting until my fear melted away. Finally I felt comfortable enough to be on my own and his arms released me. It certainly was different than what I was expecting but cool nonetheless.

I glanced towards him and asked, "Okay so now how do we get up there?" I pointed towards the roof. He grinned broadly and the wind picked up behind me, pushing me higher and forward, "Whoa! Cool! So this is how you get around?"

"Normally," Jack replied, "I use North's globes occasionally and sometimes have to use the Warren tunnels but the wind helping me to fly is preferred." He looked to be completely at ease now, happiness and adoration reflecting in his eyes. My heart fluttered at his expression and something inside of me realized that it wasn't only that Jack liked, possibly even loved me…

I might feel the same way about him

**Jack's POV**

I was so nervous about what was going to happen. What if she didn't like Harbin? What if she didn't like flying? Hundreds of what-if situations flew through my brain, but seeing her smile back at me made those worries disappear. She looked like a goddess in the dress and the color reminded me of the ice that I produced.

I flew us both to the roof and I heard Glow gasp again at my side. There was a small table, a single candle in its center and just looked similar to a fancy restaurant setup. I silently thanked Tooth for her ideas because without her this probably would not have happened.

I pulled out Glow's chair for her and she sat down, surprise and wonder lit up in her eyes. I let the environment sink in for a moment before asking, "So uh…surprise?" Tears began to streak down her face and my heart stopped for a moment, "What's wrong? Do you not like it? Did I mess up? Did I…?"

"Jack," she interrupted, "I'm not crying because it's bad. I'm just so happy." My heart leaped at her reaction, "No one has ever cared for me like this before," her eyes narrowed in confusion, "I don't think at least."

Now I was confused, "Wait, I saw you once with this guy named Jason. You looked pretty happy then." Her eyes widened and I immediately recognized my mistake, "Oh sorry, sorry! I shouldn't talk about exes on the first date, I forgot." She tilted her head, deep in thought. Then it occurred to me, "Wait, Glow…Do you not remember?"

Her lowered head gave me my answer, "Oh my god I'm sorry. I didn't know. I just thought…"

"Jack."

It was barely a whisper but I still heard it. I shut up immediately.

She raised her head up, grief present in her eyes now, "You are right. I don't remember anything. I didn't get a chance to remember before I woke up." She placed her hand over mine, a gentle tingling beginning to flow through me, "I really appreciate all of this Jack, and I really do. You care for me more than I could have ever imagined. Especially because we are polar opposites too." I had to laugh at that but her next words made me freeze in my tracks, "But why?"

Uh oh. I needed to think fast. I already told the others that I would not speak of the romance part of the prophecy on the chance that it could change our fates. Glow sat in front of me, patiently waiting for a response. Finally I said, "Because I made a promise years ago, and I intend to keep it."

"What promise?" she asked quietly.

I decided to tell her about what I said to Jamie, "I made a promise to your ancestor Jamie that I would protect you with my life. I would never let you get hurt." A weight seemed to lift off of my chest, seemingly lighter since I told someone else of my promise.

I put my head in my hands and continued, "I couldn't protect you from Pitch since you have woken up once, and I have failed you times before that." I groaned, "I let you die."

I heard her get out of her chair and kneel by my side. She raised my head with her hands and said, "None of that was your fault. And I'm fine now see?" I didn't respond so she continued, "But there is something else too. Something that you aren't telling me."

I tensed and sighed in resignation, "I have watched over your family for centuries, I watched you grow up into the person you are today. But you always intrigued me."

"Why?" she probed gently. She began to massage my shoulder blades in an attempt to release some of the excess stress.

I continued, "You were the one that never believed in me. All of the other children of your family believed in me at one point, but you never did. You were different and I wanted to know why." I grabbed her hands and stood up in front of her, "You are kind, smart, funny…" I trailed off, 'Beautiful," I added quietly.

"What is it you are trying to say Jack?" she asked. I think I knew what she was trying to get me to say aloud, but I didn't know if I could do it. I didn't want to terrify her by appearing as this random guy who loves her. Fireworks began to go off in the distance, lighting up the sky in brilliant colors.

"Glow…"

"Yes Jack?"

"I think I…I'm in love with you,' I immediately covered my face with my hands, fear blazing through me. If she rejected me, I didn't think I could handle it.

She didn't respond for a minute and then she quietly replied, "I think I feel the same way." What?! My head shot up, disbelief coursing through me. Did she say what I think she just said? She continued, "Ever since I woke up in the afterlife," I flinched involuntarily at the mention of that place, "I felt drawn to you. I felt as though I knew you before, yet I know in my mind that I didn't. But regardless, I am drawn to you and feel the same way about you as you do me." She trailed off and looked down at her feet. I knew then that if anything was going to happen, I would have to initiate it.

I brought her into my arms, my hands holding her waist close to mine. I looked into her eyes seriously and said, "I have spent more than 400 years of my life waiting for a moment such as this, where such a beautiful woman would claim to have feelings for me as I do her." Whoa where is this coming from? I'm not stuttering anymore, I feel more confident, growing with each passing moment, "And now here she is, smiling at me," Glow blushed profusely and I leaned in closer asking, "May I?" She nodded once and I closed the gap between us. Our lips met for the first time and waves of feeling exploded through my body. It felt as though I was on fire, yet I felt no pain. There was a tenderness that existed that I could not have ever imagined. The fireworks exploding in the air, the glow of the castle, everything in that moment was just perfect.

Finally I pulled away from her, feeling as though I might fall because I was in a daze. I looked into Glow's eyes and she looked dazed herself, but she was grinning giddily, "You don't like to do things small, do you?"

I grinned back, "Nope." Silence fell for a moment and then I said, "You are everything to me Glow, and you are my present and my future. I will never let anything change that."

Glow seemed lost in thought again for a moment and then spoke quietly, "Jack, can you do something for me?"

"Anything," I immediately answered.

She murmured quietly, "I know I said that I said I want to be called Glow now, but when it's just the two of us together like this, can you call me Crystal again?" Before I could affirm her wish she continued, "I know I said before that the name "Crystal" died with her, but maybe she didn't quite, since you seem to know her best now." She smiled gently and hugged me tightly.

We pulled apart and I answered, "For you Crystal, I would do anything."


End file.
